Jeremy Corbyn’s election co-ordinator has hailed opinion polls showing the gap between Labour and the Conservatives is falling, saying: “There’s something happening in politics in this country.”

Ian Lavery said: “The recent narrowing in the polls is very encouraging.”

However, he stressed that “the only poll that really counts” is the general election on June 8.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (Image: Getty Images Europe)

It follows the publication of a new analysis from polling company YouGov which shows the Conservative Party could lose 20 seats and see its majority wiped out, while Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour may gain 28 seats.

This would be a spectacular failure for Conservative leader Theresa May, who called a snap election in the hope of a landslide win.

However, other Labour politicians are privately extremely sceptical about the suggestion that Labour will make any gains at all, with one describing the YouGov finding as “utter fantasy”.

Mr Lavery, Labour’s candidate for Wansbeck in Northumberland, said: “The only poll that matters is the general election on June 8th but the recent narrowing in the polls is very encouraging. It clearly represents the feeling on the doorstep, Labour’s manifesto has been received greatly by many who have had enough of cuts austerity and despair.

Ian Lavery (Image: Daily Mirror)

“The Labour Party are offering hope and an opportunity to transform the lives of millions of people many who feel left behind.

“The policies are a clear offer to the people in our communities.

“The electorate have now seen the real Jeremy Corbyn - a warm man with great passion who for generations has fought and campaigned for fairness, justice and equality.

“There’s something happening in politics in this country. We want the opportunity to deliver a brighter future for this country.”

Mr Lavery is one of two co-ordinators of Labour’s campaign, alongside Greater Manchester politician Andrew Gwynne.

Other Labour figures are less optimistic, and warn that voters do not want to see Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Theresa May (Image: Getty Images Europe)

The prospect of a hung Parliament could actually encourage some voters to support the Tories, one said.

Read More

General Election 2017

A good night for the Tories could see Mrs May’s party pick up 345 seats, YouGov analysts say, a net gain of 15 but still well short of the kind of majority she would have hoped to secure following the decision to go to the country.

Read More

She told ITV News: “No. The only poll that matters is the one that takes place on June 8, and when June 8 comes the choice that people will have is actually the same as it was at the beginning of the campaign.”

Jeremy Corbyn insisted Labour could win a majority. Asked about the possibility of a hung Parliament, he told a press conference in Westminster: “I really believe that because what you would see outside is a very different story - the enthusiasm, the step-change, and the whole ambition of people to win this election for Labour, to elect a Labour government with a majority to carry out what will be an agenda that will radically improve the lives of so many people.”